Published in "Untangling Coma Berenices: A New Vision of an Old Cluster", Proceedings of the meeting held in Marseilles (France), June 17-20, 1997, Eds.: Mazure, A., Casoli F., Durret F. , Gerbal D., Word Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd. The LEVEL5 version is a reformated text available from http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9711251

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Abstract. In this paper I describe how our knowledge and understanding of the properties and structure of the Coma cluster of galaxies has evolved through the years, since early this century, when the first maps of the density of nebulæ in the Coma region were produced, and until the present time. It is shown that most of the recent discoveries that have led to a change in our view of this cluster, were in fact anticipated very early on.

Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTION: WHY COMA?
• COMA: AN OLD FRIEND
• The Myth
• The Coma cluster of nebulæ
• WEIGHING COMA
• Zwicky's Heresy
• More Data!
• Beyond the Virial Theorem
• MORE LIGHT ON COMA
• LOOKING INTO THE DARK
• No Dark Matter?
• Diffuse Light
• Diffuse Gas
• Diffuse Dust
• Galaxy Halos
• Particles
• THE TIDY COMA: A PLACE FOR EACH GALAXY
• Luminosity segregation
• Spirals in Coma?
• Velocity Segregation
• SLICING COMA
• The SW Group
• Subclusters in the Core
• The Radio Halo Coma C
• AN OLD VISION OF A NEW CLUSTER: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
• REFERENCES